The New Year is here! What resolutions did you make for 2018? Getting healthier was the top resolution among Americans this year, according to Google analytics. However, Forbes magazine recently found that only 8% of people actually follow through with their resolutions. I want to make sure that you meet your goals this year to be the healthiest that you can be, so you can experience a high quality of life with little to no medication reliance. If you made the goal to get healthy this year, congratulations! Now that you have determined what your goal is, we are here to help you achieve it! Here are some tips to make 2018 your best year yet.
1) Hold yourself accountable by staying motivated
Once you set your goals, it’s important to remember why you wanted to set them in the first place in order to stay motivated. Write down what your goals are and document exactly why getting healthy is important to you. Are you wanting to keep up with your grandchildren? Rely less on medications? Have more energy throughout the day or a greater sex drive? These are all great reasons to achieve your goal. Once you’ve written down the reasons that you want to be a healthier you in 2018, keep track of your goal progress and remember to revisit your reasons to maintain your motivation. You may even have to adjust your goals as you achieve them! For example, you could change “rely less on medications” to “completely eliminate medications” as you slowly see results.
2) Take baby steps
If you aren’t a runner, but you want to run a 5K race this year, you’re going to have to work up to your goal. It would be very difficult to run 5 Kilometers if you haven’t been very active. Setting small goals to meet along the way is essential for success. For example, if you want to lose 50 pounds, that is great! However, you aren’t going to lose it all overnight. It is important to take baby steps to avoid frustration, causing you to give up. Every person who has lost 50 pounds lost 15 pounds first. 50 pounds may seem like a lot, but if you set small goals at 15, 30 and 45, it will keep you motivated as you go along, instead of forfeiting your goals. Take baby steps all the way to the finish line!
3) Plan ahead
A big part of being healthy is choosing the right things to eat. When we let our bodies become very hungry, it is easier to make the decision to eat quick, unhealthy foods. The ease of quickly satisfying hunger in today’s busy lifestyle is why pro-inflammatory boxed and canned foods are prevalent. Therefore, a bit of foresight and planning can go a long way in creating healthy habits, avoiding this inflammatory trap. Set some time aside to plan out your meals for the week. When you’re making a healthy dinner, make enough for leftovers. Have prepared healthy foods in the refrigerator and keep some healthy snacks like walnuts in your car that you can eat when you’re hungry. These habits will prevent you from making poor decisions due to hunger. You can also plan what times and days you’re going to exercise, and, remember, always hold yourself accountable for your goals!
4) Don’t forget about your mental health
When we think about being healthy, we usually think about our physical body, but you shouldn’t neglect your mental health. The power of the mind in reducing or elevating inflammation is increasingly understood as paramount in the disease process. Look for common and uncommon sources of stress in your life and work diligently to remove as many as possible in conjunction with implementing healthy stress resolution practices. Some practices that we recommend are: massage, meditation, laughing, reading, and spending undistracted/ unplugged quality time with friends and family. Meditation in particular has been proven to reduce stress. To meditate, close your eyes while sitting or standing comfortably. Breathe naturally and focus on your body as you breathe. Feel your belly rise and fall. Check in with your body– how do your toes feel? Try to concentrate on different parts of your body and put your mind at ease. Try doing this for five minutes when you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed.
Remember that being healthy is a mindset and a lifestyle. We believe that most, if not all people, are capable of making substantial health gains with simple, yet keystone, lifestyle changes. Focus on your goals and you will soon be enjoying a happier, healthier and higher quality life in 2018! Cheers to your good health and meeting your resolutions!